Totaled Car - How Much?

[Duchie]

On Friday I was in a wreck The guy plowed right into my driver's side door. Thankfully, no one was injured, but my car might be totaled. I've been researching the value of it to get an idea of what the payout might be and the numbers are all over the place (there's a range of about $2500). I want to make sure we get a fair settlement but don't know which of these numbers to use. I've gone to Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds and NADA to find a value. These sites list a trade-in, private sale and dealer retail amounts. Which one of these does the insurance company use to determine if the car is actually totaled? The car was 10 years old but low mileage and in great shape so I'm hoping it can be repaired properly. But if not I don't know what number to use as a fair value for it in a settlement. Does anyone here know?

 

[angierae]

On Friday I was in a wreck The guy plowed right into my driver's side door. Thankfully, no one was injured, but my car might be totaled. I've been researching the value of it to get an idea of what the payout might be and the numbers are all over the place (there's a range of about $2500). I want to make sure we get a fair settlement but don't know which of these numbers to use. I've gone to Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds and NADA to find a value. These sites list a trade-in, private sale and dealer retail amounts. Which one of these does the insurance company use to determine if the car is actually totaled? The car was 10 years old but low mileage and in great shape so I'm hoping it can be repaired properly. But if not I don't know what number to use as a fair value for it in a settlement. Does anyone here know?

State Farm told me what they do is they take an average of what similiar cars have sold for recently in your area, and that's what you get. When I totalled my 2007 Cobalt I actually got paid out about $2500 more than I owed on it because we'd bought it used at the same time we bought another car and I got a FABULOUS deal on it. I was able to replace it with one model year newer with more bells and whistles.

 

[Aryanna&BiancasMommy]

My husband just totaled his 2008 Chevy Impala three weeks ago. The insurance company used the NADA for the actual cash value.

It actually was more than I had expected, so hopefully it will be the same for you. (I had researched it as well) Of course, what we got, didn't cover all that we owed, so our Gap insurance will have to pay around 850.00 but that is what is there for, so at least I don't have to pay the 850

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My dh van just got totaled too (girl talking on her cell phone which is illegal here and there was a witness thank God) A second sooner or later and my dh might not be here, but Praise God he is.and we are working with State Farm, that in itself is a nightmare. Their customer service from our agent to the claims people is disaterous.

My dh has been on hold for over an hour sometimes etc. This week end we finally completed the last of the paperwork I hope.

They told dh what we would be getting and it seems more than we expected. Our car has higher mileage but was totally loaded etc.

I think we were looking at the kelly blue book too, I would have to review the figures as our ds was giving them to us.

We just got a used 2009 to replace our totaled 2005 van.

It was also a terrible time to look for something. There are barely any 2011 leftovers here in colors that we would like and the 2012 havent really come in yet, so we settled on this one.

Best of luck to you.

 

[tinatark]

NADA retail, plus tax, tag, title.

If they use an *average* it's not a good value. Just like getting an appraisal on your home, if the beginning comps are low, your car value will be lower than it should be.

The other driver's insurance should be paying for a rental car for you, too.

If their insurance company isn't settling to your satisfaction, you have the option (if you have full coverage) of having your insurance company pay your claim and subrogate the claim with/to the other company.

 

[jakoky]

My van was totaled 2 1/2 weeks ago while it was parked in front of our house. The girl was a brand new N driver, with her license less than a month. We were going to trade the van in 3 years ago, and we're told they were going to give us$1500, so we decided we were going to drive it forever....well, when they said totaled, we were worried about the amount we would get. When they called with a figure just below $5000, I ran and grabbed my cheque ...btw, it was a 2002 Chevy venture, with extremely low k -120 000, but a base model and lots of things not working (gas gauge, power locks)... We ended up with a Toyota yaris 07 that I love...good luck

 

[Duchie]

Thanks for all of the responses!

State Farm told me what they do is they take an average of what similiar cars have sold for recently in your area, and that's what you get. When I totalled my 2007 Cobalt I actually got paid out about $2500 more than I owed on it because we'd bought it used at the same time we bought another car and I got a FABULOUS deal on it. I was able to replace it with one model year newer with more bells and whistles.

I've looked up what places around here are selling cars like ours for (same make, model and year). But the mileage on ours was way lower than anything else out there. I'm hoping we can use these when negotiating.

My husband just totaled his 2008 Chevy Impala three weeks ago. The insurance company used the NADA for the actual cash value.

It actually was more than I had expected, so hopefully it will be the same for you. (I had researched it as well) Of course, what we got, didn't cover all that we owed, so our Gap insurance will have to pay around 850.00 but that is what is there for, so at least I don't have to pay the 850

Did they use NADA retail or trade-in? The 2 numbers I got on that site were quite a bit different for my car. Fortunately this one has long since been paid off, so that won't be an issue for us.

My dh van just got totaled too (girl talking on her cell phone which is illegal here and there was a witness thank God) A second sooner or later and my dh might not be here, but Praise God he is.and we are working with State Farm, that in itself is a nightmare. Their customer service from our agent to the claims people is disaterous.

My dh has been on hold for over an hour sometimes etc. This week end we finally completed the last of the paperwork I hope.

They told dh what we would be getting and it seems more than we expected. Our car has higher mileage but was totally loaded etc.

I think we were looking at the kelly blue book too, I would have to review the figures as our ds was giving them to us.

We just got a used 2009 to replace our totaled 2005 van.

It was also a terrible time to look for something. There are barely any 2011 leftovers here in colors that we would like and the 2012 havent really come in yet, so we settled on this one.

Best of luck to you.

That's the hardest part for us is now possibly having to buy something else. We weren't planning on buying a new car at the moment and don't even know what we want. Do you know if they used Kelley Blue Book private party sale or trade-in amount?

NADA retail, plus tax, tag, title.

If they use an *average* it's not a good value. Just like getting an appraisal on your home, if the beginning comps are low, your car value will be lower than it should be.

The other driver's insurance should be paying for a rental car for you, too.

If their insurance company isn't settling to your satisfaction, you have the option (if you have full coverage) of having your insurance company pay your claim and subrogate the claim with/to the other company.

We're trying to decide if we go through our insurance company or theirs. I've talked to our agent but only got to play phone tag with theirs. And I did read somewhere today to make sure they include tax, title and all fees in with the settlement.

 

[mbf]

My DH owns an autobody repair shop and 9 times out of 10 the insurance companies give a better price for totaled cars that you might think. They will take $$ off for messy interior, worn tires, any other visible signs that the car may not have been well maintained. You can try to fight that though. You are probably better off contacting your insurance company and letting them fight it out with the other company to get the money. Your company will be much kinder to you dollar wise than the company of the at fault driver.

And yes, get the rental car. And you have a right to have a car comparable to the one that was totaled. If it was a mid-sized sedan then do not let them tell you that you have to get a Ford Fiesta. When my niece's parked truck got totaled by a drunk driver the other insurance company tried to tell her she was only allowed an Economy rental but my DH knew better so got on the phone and told them she should have a suitable replacement for the vehicle she owned. Of course they will give you only limited time but still it is better than not having a vehicle.